Here We Stand
by Twilight Flower
Summary: Set after Majora's Mask is defeated; told mostly around Kafei, Anju, and Romani and Cremia- but some other characters are mentioned too. Hope you like it; please review!


Title: Here We Stand

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING IN THE LEGEND OF ZELDA SERIES. NO MONEY IS BEING MADE – NO HARM IS INTENDED!!**

"Tael – I hope you behaved while I was away," Tatl exclaimed at her brother, floating close by. Much to her slight agitation, he had become more… clingy since they had been reunited. She didn't mind; she had always been protective of her brother, however much she yelled at him, but still, she would like some time for herself.

"Of course, Tatl." He responded exasperatedly. "Of course I was good, wasn't I, Skull Kid?"

The Skull Kid looked up, startled. He smiled, the most sincere smile he had shown in three days. Yet, it didn't feel like three days; more like a millennia.

"I wish I could say the same thing about myself," He said, not quite answering the question. He stopped walking, and looked down, ashamed. None of this worry would have ever took place if he had just left that mask alone. He was foolish, reckless, and, most importantly, irresponsible. He feel to the ground, feeling suddenly sick helpless.

His two fairies immediately flew down to his side.

"It wasn't your fault-" Tatl began.

"You can't blame yourself- it was the mask!" Tael cut in.

"You know you would never to any of that stuff on your own will!"

"It controlled you!" Tael suddenly said, trying for a mystical affect. Instead, he sent the Skull Kid and Tatl into gales of laughter, and, eventually, he joined in. They were like this for a few minutes before the Skull Kid, catching his breath, said, "So, you really don't blame me?"

Tael was the first to answer. "Of course not!"

Tatl, however, answered more slowly. "It was terrible, what you did, stealing that mask from that man!"

"Tatl-" Tael hissed as the Skull Kid hung his head again.

"… but as long as you've learned your lesson…" She finished, keeping a determinately straight face, "then what's done is done- and I can't blame you for it anymore than I blame myself for letting it happen.

She swooped down and cuddled next to the Skull kid, who wrapped his arm gently around her. Tael joined, as well, and before they knew it, they were entangled together in one massive group hug.

"You guys are my best friends…" The Skull Kid said, slowly and meaningfully.

"You're ours!" Tael exclaimed.

"Alright, alright, enough with the mushy stuff- let's go to the carnival!!" Tatl exclaimed, laughing.

"Okay!" The Skull Kid leapt up, and ran toward Clock Town. The large stone toward stood tall and proud over the land, a symbol of how close they had come to complete annihilation, yet how much closer they had become.

"Anju-" She turned. There stood her husband, Kafei, tall and handsome; his long purple hair hanging down neatly. Her eyes filled with tears of happiness as she looked at him. He was smiling, but stopped when she saw her expression.

"Anju- why are you crying?" He asked hastily., walking over towards his wife.

She looked up at him still unable to believe that they were married. His deep red eyes met hers, as she said, "We might not have seen this day,"

He frowned, shifting his gaze. It was true; many people believed that the appearance if the large moon was a symbol of destruction, and so the town had been nearly empty by the time the Carnival of Time came. He recalled quite plainly, how Anju had fought with her mother on staying in Clock Town, telling her that she and Kafei had promised each other they would stay together. A part of him felt like he had gone back on his word, despite his stubbornness to remain in Clock Town. He had hid out in the back room of the Curiosity Shop, and spied on the man who had stolen his precious wedding mask, a thief named Sakon. In a last minute, desperate attempt to redeem himself of his shame, he had tracked down Sakon, and with some help, retrieved his wedding mask.

He shook his head. This was their wedding day – it was supposed to be joyous. He looked back at his wife and said, "But we idid/i see this day – and what I day it is!"

She smiled back up at him, and said, "I kept the pendant, like you wanted,"

She reached for something under her dress, and pulled out a curiously shaped pendant. He nearly gasped when he saw it. Then, slowly, he reached down and touched it lightly with his fingers. Anju shivered as his hands brushed her skin. Then, slowly, he leaned down and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him returning the kiss, feeling more happy than ever before…

"Romani, hold it like this-" Cremia instructed, showing her younger sister how to hold the small red ball. They had arrived at Clock Town just before her friend, Anju's wedding, and, after the memorable occasion, they were found enjoying themselves at the carnival, playing games, and having their fortunes told.

"Cremia- I can do this!" Romani said, tossing the ball at the target. It missed by a couple of inches. Romani grinded her teeth, gripping the last ball she was allowed to throw tightly.

"Romani- please, let me show you how it throw it!"

Sighing, her sister gave in, and allowed her to instruct her on how to throw it. Cremia took her sister's hand, and moved the fingers around so that they had a firm grip on the ball. "This gives you more control, so that when you throw-" Romani tossed it forward and it hit the target with a ithwack/i- "You are more likely to hit where you want."

Romani cheered, accepting her prize, which was, much to her pleasant surprise, a large, stuffed, grasshopper plush toy.

"Aren't you going to name it?" Her older sister asked.

"Hmmm," She thought for a moment, and remembered the boy in green who had come to the ranch a few days ago. She remembered how he had reminded her of a grasshopper, the way he patted around. He had become a hero in her eyes… and yet, there was someone else who she considered her hero…

"I'll name it… Cremia." She exclaimed.

The human Cremia giggled nervously, then said, "Good choice." She ushered her sister towards another interesting looking game, then caught sight of her friend, Anju.

"Anju!" She called, waving. Anju turned, her husband beside her, and smiled. They made their way over to the two, all beaming.

"What's that?" Romani asked, pointing towards something Kafei was holding in his hand.

"Romani-" Cremia scoffed, "it's rude to point!"

But Kafei shrugged it off, and said in response to the young girl's question, "This… is a long forgotten past." He glanced over at Anju apologetically, still unable to forgive himself for abandoning the original plan.

Tilting her head, slightly to one side, Romani looked more closely at the object. She had heard about them, but never seen one close up. It was a yellow Keaton Mask, one of the fox spirits of Termina. They had become very popular in the form of masks, but both the masks and the creatures had become very rare.

Kafei noticed her looking at it, and held it out. "You can have it if you want," then, he added in an undertone, "I have all I need right here," He put an arm around Anju's waist and brought her close to his side. She blushed slightly, but otherwise looked very pleased.

"Really!?" Romani exclaimed, taking it in both hands. "Thank you!" She added hastily, as her sister gave her one of her pre-lecture looks. She turned and rolled her eyes so only Kafei and Anju could see. They laughed heartily – Cremia's little sister could be quite amusing.

Truth be told, Kafei was quite glad to be rid of the mask. It felt like an empty shell to him now, a reminder of all the trouble that had been caused over the passed few days. What felt like ages ago, he had been cursed into a child's body by the Skull Kid's treacherous deeds, and when he had tried to undo the curse by visiting the Great Fairy in Clock Town, he had had his wedding mask stolen from him. Filled with grief and despair, he found that the Great Fairy had also become a victim of the Skull Kid's wrongdoing, and so, not in a position to help him. Everything seemed to have gone down hill from there, until he had gotten his mask back and returned, despite his feeling of dread that Anju would no longer want to marry him, to the Stock Pot Inn. Looking around at the sight before him, of all the families reunited after the dreadful scene, and at himself, happily married to the perfect woman, he could not have been more pleased about his return…

Kafei sat, reading a leather-bound book on a soft chair. He was waiting for Anju to arrive back from Romani Ranch, where she was visiting her friend, Cremia, and picking up some supplies. When she came back, he planned on going to the Milk Bar and seeing some of his old friends again; it had been a while since they had corresponded. His red eyes traveled across the page as the minutes came and went. At last, he heard movement coming from the front of their house, and he got up, stretching slightly, and made his way to the front door, where he was very surprised to see not Anju, but Cremia and her sister.

"Wha-" Kafei was about to speak, when Cremia cut in,

"Kafei, Anju and I haven't been able to spend much time together lately, so we were planning on visiting Great Bay Coast and Zora's Hall."

Kafei waited for her to continue, unsure as to why she had traveled all this way. It couldn't have been just to tell him that, could it?

"And, well, as you know, it's not easy to get to, and so I was wondering if you could… perhaps… babysit Romani?"

Kafei's eyes widened and he stared, open-mouthed at Cremia, lost for words.

She added quickly, "It's just that… well, we've always considered you and Anju family… and we thought – that if everything went well… you two would play host as Cremia's godparents…?"

Kafei's eyes softened, and he couldn't help but smile. He fought back tears – he couldn't afford to breakdown now, not when Cremia had offered him something beyond what he could imagine.

He nodded. "Of course. Tell Anju I hope she has fun. Enjoy yourselves…"

"Romani doesn't need to be babysat!" Romani exclaimed, temporarily reverting back to her third-person speech.

"Come on, Romani, you'll enjoy yourself here. I'll take you to Great Bay when you're older."

"A few nights ago you said I was old enough for my own mask!" Romani pointed out to her older sister. Cremia's eyes darkened. She recalled how, at the last moment, when doom seemed to be on their doorstep, she had shown Romani her softer side, and treated her more like an adult than ever before. She felt that it was her duty to make her sister happy when they seemed so near the end.

She looked down at her, and said, "That was very different. I just don't want you to get hurt, Romani! You must understand!"

Romani seemed to consider her for a moment, then said, "Can Cremia stay?" she pulled the toy grasshopper she had been holding close to her, and stared up at her sister with wide, pleading eyes.

"Yes, of course… iit/i can stay." Cremia said, unsure on what gender to label the soft toy.

Romani smiled happily and turned towards Kafei, giving a small exclamation of joy. Cremia hugged her sister tightly, thanked Kafei, and left.

"What's this?" Romani said, pointing to a large brown book with red ribbon.

Kafei moved closer, and said, "That's my photo album." He picked it up and sat down on the nearby couch.

"Come here, I'll show you," He patted slightly uncertainly on his knee gesturing for Romani to sit down there. She walked over and took a seat on his knee, and he opened the album, and became immediately filled with memories.

"Here is me at the Milk Bar with my friends. That's my wedding Mask; I was showing off to them, my friends. They… put up with a lot of junk when hanging around with me." He said, laughing.

Romani was eyeing a picture of a young baby with red hair, with two women standing with her, one taller than the other. The taller one was holding the baby in her arms. The shorter one, who was wearing a soft-purple dress, also had red hair. On her other side, was another girl, about her height, looking shyly at the camera, with one hand in the air, mid-wave. She had darker hair than the rest.

"Who are these people, Kafei?" Kafei followed her gaze, and his face suddenly became stony. He wasn't sure if he was the one to tell her this, but, seeing no way out of it…

"This is a picture of you, taken about a year after you were born- that's you right there," He pointed at the baby smiling happily in the woman's arms. "That's your sister, Cremia, right there," He pointed to the girl with orange hair, winking at the camera. She looked like an older version of Romani, even then. "There's Anju," He pointed fondly at a younger version of his wife, standing next to her life-long friend, looking timid, yet happy. "And… that… is your mother." He pointed towards the woman who was holding the young child. She was smiling happily, her face frozen forever in a carefree expression.

"Oh…" Romani said softly. She looked at the picture for half a minute, before said, "She was pretty…"

Kafei smiled sadly, before saying, "Yes, she was… and you look just like her." Romani's face lit up

The rest of the day passed quickly, as Romani and Kafei played games inside while the residents of Clock Town bustled about on their busy day.

Anju and Cremia finally arrived on Cremia's old wagon. Romani ran up to then, babbling on about their day, and all the fun she had had.

Cremia was beaming at Kafei, and pulled him aside, saying, "I can't thank you enough, Kafei. It means so much that you did this for me."

Brushing some of his purple hair out of his eyes, he said, "Glad to help…"

(please review! it inspires me to continue! no flaming, though please. Concrit and suggestions are always welcome, though! thanks!)


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